History of court watchmaker Jean Antoine Lepine - inventor of the Lepine pocket watch

Jean Antoine Lépine was born on November 18, 1720, in Challex, France. His father was Philibert Lépine (Depigny). After training as a watchmaker, he went to Paris in 1744 and worked in the workshop of André Charles Caron . Around 1750 , Lépine developed the comma escapement . In 1756, he married Caron 's daughter, Madeleine-Françoise Caron, and became his partner. In 1762, he successfully completed his master watchmaker's examination and in 1766, under Louis XV, was appointed Royal Watchmaker .

He retained this title under Louis XVI and Napoleon. In 1769, at the age of 72, Caron retired from the company, and Lépine took it over completely. He operated his business on rue Saint Denis, at Place Saint Eustache. In 1770, Lépine invented the Lépine caliber , named after him: the open pocket watch (see, in contrast, Savonnette ). Until then, watch movements had been equipped with full plates , but Lépine revolutionized the pocket watch movement with his unprecedented design.

Bridge construction . In 1772, Lépine moved to the Place Dauphine. From 1778 to 1779, his business was located on the Quai de l'Horloge du Palais, and from 1781 onwards in the Rue des Fossés Saint Germain l'Auxerrois near the Louvre.

Besides his business, Lépine was also involved in the watchmaking colony of Ferney (now Ferney-Voltaire, view this location) , founded by Voltaire . He spent at least 18 months in Ferney and also managed this "watch factory." After Voltaire's death, the watch factory fell into disrepair and closed. In 1782, his daughter Pauline married one of his employees, Claude-Pierre Raguet . From 1789, Lépine operated at 12 Place des Victoires, and Claude-Pierre worked with him. In the same year, on April 23, Lépine delivered pocket watch No. 5378 to George Washington. In 1792, Claude-Pierre Raguet became his partner, and the company was renamed Raguet-Lépine. Raguet became "Horloger du Roy" (Watchmaker to the King) and from then on called himself Claude-Pierre Raguet-Lépine. Lépine worked until his eyesight no longer allowed him to, around 1894. Jean Antoine Lépine died in 1814 in his apartment on Rue St. Anne in Paris. Claude-Pierre Raguet-Lépine had already died in 1810. His son Alexandre Raquet took over the business.

Jean Antoine Lépine is considered a master of space utilization. Among other things, he improved the design of the mainspring barrel by incorporating toothed sections, thus eliminating the need for a chain and fusee drive. This enabled the construction of very flat [windows/windows]. Watches .

The Lepine pocket watch pictured here bears the signature and a portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte, with Egyptian pyramids in the background. This pocket watch thus commemorates July 21, 1798 : Napoleon's victory at the Battle of the Pyramids . Upon his return, Napoleon was celebrated as a national hero.

The clearly visible case number now also allows conclusions to be drawn about the dating of other Lépine watches.

successor

Around 1815, the business was sold to Paul Chapuy.
1827; taken over by François Deschamps.
1832; taken over by Fabre (Favre).
1853; taken over from Boulay.
1885; Roux , Bouley's son-in-law
1901; Ferdinand Verger .
1914; Last takeover.
1919: Remaining stock sold to Louis Leroy